A Little Bet
by Angel-Sue76
Summary: Scott makes a bet with Gordon but is it wise to deal with the devil?


**A little Bet.**

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing, just borrowing them for fun.**_

_**Scott makes a bet with Gordon but is it wise to deal with the devil? **_

_**This is for Loopsta as a birthday treat. I wrote this just for you but can't take all the credit as Sam1 helped me make this just right for ya. Enjoy Honey love ya lots.**_

* * *

Scott stepped out of the villa and stretched. It had been a long day and every part of him ached. His eyes caught sight of the bruising and long cut to his arm as he stretched his arms. He had cleaned it up and it wasn't anything too serious but it did ache. Shrugging his shoulders, he knew he should have told Virgil about the injury. Virgil's role as the resident medic meant that all injuries regardless of size were supposed to be reported to him. Scott sighed, thinking how demanding his younger brother could be when it came to making certain all injuries and illnesses were documented. Scott, however, wasn't in the mood to put up with his brother's incessant fussing especially over something so minor.

"You ain't gonna get away with this, you know?" Scott whirled to see Gordon standing beside him, a grin spreading across his face. "He is so gonna spot that," he added.

"Only if you tell him," replied Scott, facing his brother with a look that said obey or else.

Gordon just grinned and shook his head. "Oh, come on, Scott. Virge has like a sixth sense when it comes to injuries. Just give it up and face the smothering."

"Not a chance. He won't notice, he's too tired," replied Scott. He had noticed his brother yawning heavily during debrief and wouldn't last too much longer.

A familiar but worrying grin crossed his younger brother's face. "You wanna bet?"

"Bet what?" asked Scott, wondering what Gordon had in mind.

"You keep it from Virge until midnight, I'll give you 50 bucks and one whole month of no practical jokes," replied Gordon, knowing this was going to be the easiest bet ever.

"And if I fail?" asked Scott, not really believing he would but still curious.

An even bigger grin crossed the pranksters face. "He spots it then you streak across the pool deck, down to the beach and back again."

Scott stared at his younger brother in disbelief. "Why the hell would you want to see that?"

"Cos it would be funny and prove you should know better than to make a deal with the devil," laughed Gordon. "Plus, you reckon, he would never even notice anyway so what you worried about?"

Scott thought for a moment. It was a big risk if he lost but Gordon's pranking was at an all-time high and he could really do with a break from it. "Alright you have a deal but you can't give him any clue or let anyone else know," replied Scott and his younger brother nodded.

Gordon held his hand out to seal the deal. Scott shook it suddenly wondering if that was a good idea after all. Grinning, Gordon wandered off, knowing he had won. Virgil would suss it out. He always did. Scott was an idiot for betting against that. He, of all people, should know just how psychic Virgil seemed to be when it came to them being hurt.

Scott knew he had five hours until midnight and the best way to win this would be to avoid Virgil but not make it too obvious. He had an excuse for at least an hour or so as Thunderbird One needed some routine maintenance done. He was going to do it and see how long he could drag it out.

* * *

Two hours later, Scott admitted defeat and headed up to the lounge. If he stayed down much longer, they would start getting suspicious. Walking into the lounge, he was relieved to see Gordon engrossed in a game with John. His eyes automatically strayed to where Virgil was sat at the piano and concentrating on a piece of music; clearly his brother was not as exhausted as he had first thought. Taking a seat on the couch, he picked up a report about the latest developments in combat flight techniques and was soon engrossed.

Gordon, however, had noticed his older brother enter and wondered how long it would be before Virgil realized what was going on. He was not going to lose this and if he had to resort to a few underhanded tactics he would. Grinning to himself, he leaned back in his seat. _"Time to get things started," he thought. _

"Just grabbing a drink, Johnny," he said, standing up. "You want anything?"

Eyebrow raised, John shook his head. "No thanks, I don't trust you not to add stuff to my drink."

Clutching his hand against his chest dramatically, Gordon moaned, "Your words wound me greatly." Smirking slightly, he quickly left the room. He paused just outside of the room and readjusted the thermostat so the lounge would warm up. Not too much but enough to make Scott in his long sleeved top, hot. Grinning, he made a drink and came back into the room.

A few minutes later, Scott began to feel a little warm and longed to remove his top but knew he couldn't. His arm was also beginning to itch and he needed to scratch it but that would mean rolling his sleeve up. Fighting the urge to itch just made it worse and he knew he couldn't fight it much longer. Glancing up, he could see Virgil was fully engrossed in his music. He itch was unbearable now so he carefully rolled his sleeve up, just far enough he could put his hand under but not reveal the injury.

As relief filled him, he realized something. It was suddenly quiet in the lounge. Looking over, he saw his brother had stopped playing and was staring at him.

"You got something to tell me, bro?" questioned Virgil, his voice calm but there was a deadly edge to it.

Scott pulled his sleeve down, "Like what?" he asked, knowing he couldn't have revealed enough for Virgil to notice from across the room.

"Like what you did to your arm perhaps?" suggested Virgil, standing up and walking over.

Scott's eyes met Gordon's and his little brother grinned. "You lose," he mouthed.

Distracted by Gordon, he never noticed Virgil approach until his brother grabbed his arm. Virgil pulled up the sleeve before his brother could escape. He had to admit it looked worse now the bruising had really appeared. He was relieved his father had already turned in for the night or he would be in bigger trouble.

Virgil studied the injury closely and was relieved to see that it was relatively minor. The cut was in the process of closing up and the bruising would fade in the next few days. Letting go of the arm, Virgil turned his attention back to his brother, "And the reason for not telling me about that was?"

"I forgot it was there," replied Scott with a nervous grin.

Virgil rolled his eyes at Scott as John walked over. "Shall we try that again?"

"Okay, I knew it was there and I know I should have said something but it was only a minor injury. You looked so tired when we got back, I didn't want to add to that," he replied, honestly.

"You still should have said something though," muttered Virgil. What a stubborn family he had. Not one of them was willing to admit when they were hurt or ill.

John shook his head at his only older brother. "I can't believe you thought you could hide it from Dr. Smother over here." His words earned him a glare from Virgil.

"Oh, it gets better," said Gordon, finally joining the conversation.

Scott suddenly paled as he remembered what this all now meant. Gordon just grinned and tried to remember where his video camera was.

"What do you mean?" asked Virgil, suddenly suspicious.

"Scott bet me he couldn't hide it from you and I've just won," replied Gordon, his grin getting bigger with every word.

"What was the forfeit?" asked John.

"He's gotta strip and run naked down to the beach and back," replied Gordon and his two brothers both burst out laughing.

"This I gotta see," replied Virgil. He was annoyed that Scott had hidden the injury from him but this would be a perfect punishment. John nodded in agreement.

"You're really going to make me do this?" asked Scott, hoping his brother was joking.

"Would you have held me to my end if I'd lost?" questioned Gordon.

As much as Scott wanted to say no, he knew he would of as did all his brothers. "Fine," he said, giving in. "You stay here though," he added and everyone nodded.

Scott walked out of the lounge and down towards the pool. Why the hell had he agreed to this stupid bet? He must have been insane. He was tempted to just turn round and not do it but his brothers would never let it drop and he had made a deal. Hundreds had been made over the years amongst the boys and each one had been followed through until the end. In this case, it would be the humiliating end.

Stopping by a lounger that wasn't under the pool lights, he removed his shirt and glared at the mark which had started all this. He then removed the rest of his clothes and hesitated for a moment.

"Never again will I bet with Gordon," he said as he took a deep breath. One final glance at the welcoming light of the villa, he began to run past the pool and down to the beach.

Keeping his eyes ahead, he didn't look up at the window where his brothers were but he should have done. He missed something very important. Being in good shape, he soon reached the beach edge and stopped. The water lapped gently against the shore and with the stars shining down on him, it looked so peaceful and a lot more inviting then the villa. A temptation to go into the water and just swim called to him but he knew his brothers would only come to find him.

One last longing glance at the beach, he turned around and ran back to the villa. Approaching the lounger, he realized something was missing. Where were his clothes? Glancing around in case he had put them on a different one, his eyes landed on a towel that had been forgotten. Using it to cover his modesty, he yelled angrily across the deck, "You're a dead man, Gordon Cooper Tracy."

A voice floated across from the other side of the pool. "Fair enough but I'm the one with your clothes."

Scott turned to see John, with his clothes. "I'm going to kill you," he threatened.

"Kill one of us, you'll have to get us all," challenged another voice from the path leading to Kyrano's garden.

A third voice carried down from the upper levels of the house, "Besides if you kill just John, you may not get the piece of clothing you really need." Scott looked up and sure enough he could see his underwear and socks being held up.

Inching closer towards John, Scott could just make out that he was actually only holding his t-shirt and jeans. Well, the shirt was long enough that he would be covered up...mostly.

"Good luck with that," replied John, grinning as he took off down the path, Scott had just come back from.

Wrapping the towel around his waist as best he could, he took off after the astronaut. Scott had made it just past the pool when the towel was jerked from his grasp and fell from his waist and he was naked once more. Before he could even say anything, cold water hit him from the garden hose.

"Hey, Scotty, you're looking a bit wet there," Gordon crowed, laughing.

Shaking his head in defeat, he tried to save some of his dignity by grabbing the towel and wrapping it firmly around his waist. "This isn't over, Gordon, not by a long shot. And that's a bet I won't be losing."

* * *

How much do you love me right now Loops? Hee hee. Hope you loved it. Happy birthday honey. You're a wonderful person and this comes with all my love. Sweet dreams.


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